Battle of Wills [for Cleverfox]

[animefangirl]

Allan was sort of looking forward to the graduation ceremony this morning, for more than one reason though he kept the second one to himself--wouldn't want to ruin the surprise. He is nineteen years old, and he has just completed the basic training boot camp to become an official member of the U.S. Marines and of course that was an achievement to be proud of since it really had not been easy but he'd managed. He wasn't what most people consider marine material, since he was a bit on the tall and lithe side instead of big and bulky like most of his JV Football co-graduates but what he lacked in size he made up for in enthusiasm and skills. That morning their CO got them all up at the crack of dawn, which was actually late for them since Major Sarcasm, as Allan had 'affectionately' dubbed him behind his back, usually got them up much earlier than that to make them exercise before the sun even rose. They were ordered to pack their stuff and have the bunker in perfect shape before dressing in their formal uniforms and assembling on the field for the graduation ceremony. Allan had followed his orders to a T, he just took a bit of a detour to where the band stored the instruments, for his little 'surprise' at the end of the ceremony. Because of that he was the last of his unit to arrive and he was sure that was going to get Blaze's attention since his CO also happened to be his partner and tended to keep a close eye on him. He very carefully avoided looking at Blaze, which would also probably raise red flags but he didn't care since he knew Blaze would blame him for what was going to happen anyway since he was the only one immature enough to do it. He stood at rigid attention along with the others as they were each given their ribbons to show that they had graduated and were officially Privates instead of Cadets. He smiled a tiny bit when his ribbon was put on, and once the man moved onto the next his eyes flicked to Blaze for a brief moment before returning forward where they belonged. After the last man in his unit was awarded their ribbon the band raised their instruments to play and Allan smirked before he could stop himself only a few seconds before the band began to play and huge soap bubbles came flying out to splatter the Colonel who was there to watch the ceremony. The man was furious of course, but since he couldn't prove that it was one of the new Privates that had done it and not just a joke from the band he couldn't punish anyone, so Allan escaped official reprimand for it but he couldn't help glancing at Blaze again to see how pissed he was...if he was pissed.

[CleverFox]

Blaze was looking forward to the graduation ceremony that was taking place that morning since this new group of recruits were all very promising and the Corp could definitely put them to use but at the same time he couldn't help but feel a slight sense of foreboding. In the years since he had joined the Corp, fresh out of college, he had developed a honed sixth sense and Blaze relied on it heavily and at the moment it was telling him that there was reason to be wary. He had an inkling that he knew why it was that he was feeling like this but since he tended to try really hard not to jump to conclusions he refused to let his mind go there. He had already been up for a couple of hours when he went to rouse the troops, getting a rise out of them as he walked between the row of bunks playing Reveille on his trumpet. This wasn't their typical wake up call but even the serious commanding officer could have his moments of fun as well and this was just one of them. Once everyone was awake he issued their orders to pack up their belongings then dress and assemble on the parade grounds for the ceremony that would mark their passage from cadet to full fledged soldier. His eyes briefly went to Allan as he said this however he didn't hold the gaze long before he left them to carry out his orders. He was of course already present at the parade grounds when the group started to assemble so naturally he noticed that Allan was the last to arrive and as expected that sent up warning flags left, right and center for the man. It wasn't as though he could address that now however and so he stood and watched as the ceremony commenced, having the feeling that something was going to happen but not knowing what that something was, which was infuriating and served to put the relatively young CO on edge. As he watched Allan receiving his ribbon Blaze smiled ever so slightly as he caught the younger man's eyes but as always he didn't hold that look for long and neither did Allan, but that was more because it wasn't proper form right now. When the band raised their instruments to play and soap bubbles came flying out Blaze's eyes shifted to the Colonel for a split second before they immediately went to Allan and he saw the smirk before the young man managed to banish it. That was as good as a confession as far as he was concerned and Blaze shot the young soldier a look that said plainly that there would be hell to pay later. First he knew that he would have to smooth things over with the Colonel and that wasn't likely to be pleasant but it was unavoidable. When the new graduates were dismissed Blaze strode over to Allan and said in a fierce whisper, "My quarters, right now. I'll be there once I take care of this fiasco." Fully expecting that Allan would obey him Blaze left to take care of damage control and when that was finally handled he made his way to his quarters, not looking the least bit happy. The minute that he entered the room his gaze went to Allan and he asked, "What the hell was that?" His voice was calm since he tended to actually show less outward emotion when he was really upset and that was of course something that Allan should be aware of and duly note.

[animefangirl]

Alan was a notorious prankster, and he'd caused quite a few incidents during training that ended with him and his unit having to do exhausting PT until they were ready to drop for punishment. Of course the guys got even with him later in the barracks but he never complained about that to Blaze since he knew he deserved it and that was sort of how this whole boot camp thing worked anyway since his peers were more likely to hit him when he was being obnoxious if hey were punished too and then he would stop. Or that was the theory at least, he never did it, and each time he'd had a 'private punishment' from Blaze too but that really hadn't discouraged him either. So even though he was well aware of the fact that Blaze was going to be pissed off he still pulled his prank during the ceremony, though he sort of felt guilty for it when he got his ribbon and saw Blaze smile in response since he realized belatedly that they probably could have celebrated tonight instead of him ending up in trouble, but it was too late to change things at that point so he couldn't have stopped it even if he wanted to--which he didn't particularly want to since he didn't particularly like the colonel and it was a harmless prank. His eyes darted to Blaze after the soap splattered the uptight colonel, and he almost winced at the look that Blaze gave him since he was intimately familiar with that 'you are dead meat' look and he knew what it meant for his hide later, or more accurately his backside. It was worth it though and he greatly enjoyed watching the Colonel have a fit over it though he did a better job of hiding his amusement this time even though he'd already given away that it was him who was responsible when he smirked.

When they were dismissed he attempted to slip away with the others but that didn't work out so great for him and he was forced to stop when Blaze appeared in front of him and to snap to attention and salute the man, waiting for Blaze to salute him back before putting his hand down. He actually did wince slightly when Blaze ordered him to go to his quarters right now but he knew better than to disobey so he gave a quiet 'Yes, Sir' before watching Blaze head back to do damage control. He didn't linger there, since he didn't want to cause more trouble for himself, and instead he headed to his partners quarters where he took off his coat and draped it over a chair before loosening his collar and cuffs and then paced as he waited for Blaze to show up. He jumped a little when the man arrived, the sound of the door opening suddenly startling him, and he looked at his partner as Blaze demanded to know what the hell he'd been thinking. A few suicidal responses like 'I thought he needed a bath' or 'He looks better like that' came to mind but he managed to suppress them before they could come out and get him in trouble. "It was a harmless prank, Blaze, he didn't even know who did it so what's the problem? It's not like you got in trouble for it" he said, trying to play it off as no big deal even though he knew his lover likely would not think the same thing. He did look sort of nervous as he waited for Blaze to respond, since he could tell the man was pissed by how he talked, and it made him a bit worried since he knew that when Blaze got quiet like that he was likely going to really light into Alan when he got the chance.

[CleverFox]

Blaze was unfortunately very familiar with the pranks that the younger man liked to play and while he'd tried to curb that a bit during basic training the fact remained that some of the boy's exploits actually did amuse Blaze to a certain degree. This however was not one of them since the Colonel was pissed and that was never a good thing for him and by default that meant that it wasn't a good thing for Allan because he knew exactly who was responsible for this, his partner had given that away wit the smirk that had appeared on his lips the instant that the Colonel was coated in soap suds. Blaze was doing a good job of outwardly hiding his anger but he'd always been good at that, he was the more cold anger type of person anyway and once the new graduates were dismissed he immediately strode over to Allan before the menace could make his escape. Blaze tersely returned the salute, dropping his hand quickly and then ordering Allan to go to his private quarters right now and it really would not have been a good thing for the young man if he'd decided to disobey that and there would have been hell to pay. Since that didn't come up Blaze just went to do damage control with the Colonel before he made his way to his quarters, entering and turning piercing eyes to his partner as he asked what he hell he'd been thinking.

Any sarcasm on the part of the younger man really wasn't going to go over at all well so it was really a good thing that Allan had the good sense to refrain from that since it meant that Blaze didn't have to add that to the tally of things he was in trouble for. When the foolish kid said it was harmless and it wasn't like he got in trouble for it Blaze actually rolled his eyes as he said, "As your commanding officer I'm held responsible for everything that you idiots do whether he knows which idiot did it or not. Actually it's worse if he doesn't know who's actually responsible, it's my job to keep you in line." He paused at that point before giving his partner an ominous look. "Which apparently I haven't been doing a very good job with you. I suppose there's nothing for me to do except to remedy that little short coming." As he said this Blaze reached back and locked the door so that they would not be disturbed and since his quarters were private and nearly sound proof there would be no danger of anyone knowing what was going on. Once he'd locked the door Blaze turned back to Allan and said, "You are going to strip and stand in the corner until I tell you otherwise. Move!" He barked out the last word in his commanding tone of voice, knowing that Allan and the others were trained to immediately respond to that tone of voice and of course Allan himself had extra incentive.

[animefangirl]

Allan's pranks were never anything but light-hearted fun, so he really just didn't get why Blaze had a problem with it when he did stuff like that but most of them ended up getting the younger man into trouble, just like today. He thought it was a harmless joke but it was obvious that Blaze disagreed and when he was confronted by his irate partner he tried to defend himself by saying as much but wasn't really surprised when Blaze told him that he was held responsible for everything they did, though the 'you idiots' thing sort of stung and he gave Blaze a sort of hurt look at that but he wisely kept his mouth shut since the one thing he was good at was not making his situation worse when he knew he was in trouble...most of the time anyway. He opened his mouth to try and defend himself again but before he got the chance Blaze gave him an ominous look and said he was going to remedy that shortcoming and that was enough for Allan to know for certain that his butt was going to pay the price for his little prank this time. He watched as Blaze locked the door, getting a sinking feeling in his stomach even before his partner ordered him to strip and stand in the corner. He flushed a bit at that order, not because he was self-conscious about his body but because it was just humiliating to have to do that, but when Blaze barked out a 'Move' he jumped and moved to obey almost without conscious thought since that habit was just ingrained in him right now thanks to the bootcamp and Blaze's private 'incentives' to obey. He unbuttoned his shirt as he walked towards the corner of the room that had been designated 'his corner' and when he reached it he quickly shed his cloths and folded them neatly to place them on a chair before obediently putting himself in the corner. He stood ramrod straight when he got there, staring straight at the wall with his hands at his sides as he knew Blaze expected of him in this position and he actually managed not to fidget even though he wanted to. He also bit back any protests or attempts to plead with Blaze at this point, he knew it would be futile. So he was more or less resigned as he stood there, but even so he couldn't help but listen for what Blaze was doing and try to guess how much trouble he was in for this stunt. "Would it help if I said I was sorry you got yelled at?" He asked quietly, not sure if Blaze would have a problem with him talking in the corner or not since he'd never tried before but if he was told to be quiet he would obey.

[CleverFox]

While Blaze was well aware of the fact that Allan's pranks were never mean spirited or intended to harm others he felt that the boy needed to show a little more self discipline and make better judgment calls as to when such things were appropriate and when they were not. That judgment had been woefully wrong in this instance and he was going to make sure that his partner realized that. So after shooting down the kid's excuse that it had just been harmless fun he went on to say that he was held responsible for what his subordinates did but he did notice that the 'idiots' comment caused a hurt look to appear on the younger man's face and he said quietly, "You know I mean idiots in the nicest possible way. You aren't just any idiots, you're my idiots... which probably makes me the biggest idiot but we'll not go there." After making that rather strange comment he gave his partner an ominous look and told him that he was going to remedy his shortcomings before going on to order Allan to strip and go and stand in the corner, baring out the 'move' as a sort of after thought and he was pleased when the younger man immediately moved to follow. "Good," he praised simply, watching as Allan removed his clothes and folded them neatly before moving to stand in the corner. Leaning against the wall he watched the young man in the corner, nodding his head approvingly at the posture and taking a brief moment to admire the view but of course he wasn't going to let himself go down that road right now because Allan had managed to get himself into a significant amount of trouble. When Allen spoke up and asked if it would help if he said that he was sorry Blaze got yelled at the twenty-six year old actually smirked at that one but only because he knew the younger man couldn't see. "I would appreciate it but it wouldn't change anything," he told Allan in a serious tone of voice, not wanting to give him any false hope that he was going to escape punishment for this one.

Blaze left his partner in the corner for fifteen minutes before he called out, "Alright, come here Allan." Even as he said this the young CO reached to unfasten his belt, pulling it from the loops of his uniform pants and doubling it up before shifting his gaze to his errant partner to make sure that he was obeying the summons. "Tell me why you're in trouble," Blaze commanded when Allan walked over to stand in front of him, the CO holding the belt at his side but not making any moves to hide it. Not that doing that would really make a difference since the tell tale whooshing noise the belt made when it slid free of the loops of his pants was a dead giveaway as to his intentions.

[animefangirl]

Allan actually was reassured when Blaze clarified that 'idot' was a term of endearment in this case, and when the other man went on to make his rather strange comment Allan actually did grin a little bit because he thought it was funny. Of course any amusement he'd been feeling faded away as soon as his partner gave him the look and ordered him to go into the corner. He was not stupid enough to balk at that point and so he immediately moved to obey and he was actually quiet for a few minutes, unaware that Blaze was 'admiring the view' but he might have been the least bit offended by that if he'd known since he hardly thought now was a good time to be doing that. Luckily for him he didn't notice so he just stood there silently and smiled a little when Blaze praised him for obeying, since he liked hearing it even when he was in trouble. When he asked about the apology he sighed softly when Blaze told him that it wasn't going to change anything, but he was going to give one anyway since Blaze also said he would appreciate it. "I am sorry you got yelled at, that wasn't my intention when I did it" He said, his tone genuine since he actually did feel bad about that part of the prank even if he still thought it was kind of worth it to see the colonel covered in suds and furious like that. For the next fifteen minutes he stood still in the corner, but it was sort of hard for him and he really wanted to fidget, so it was almost a relief when he was called out of the corner.

Almost, because the words were followed by that tell-tale whooshing sound of a belt being pulled free from its loops and he was intimately familiar with that sound and just did not like it. He hesitated for only a few seconds after hearing it before turning and reluctantly walking over to Blaze, forcing himself to meet the older mans eyes instead of stare at the floor like the naughty child he sort of felt like in situations like this, which was in and of itself really embarrassing for him. He bit his bottom lip when he was ordered to tell why he was in trouble, the teen giving his partner a pleading look but unsurprisingly he didn't see Blaze bending an inch in response so he knew he had to answer. "Because I pulled a stupid prank again, and got you in trouble? Sir." he said, not sure about the second part but he knew the first part was right. He couldn't help glancing at the heavy belt dangling at Blaze's side at that point, really not wanting to feel that particular sting again when his last punishment had not even been that long ago. One would think that would encourage him to behave himself, but apparently that part of his brain was not functioning properly so he kept putting himself into situations where he forced Blaze's hand.

[CleverFox]

Blaze really did look at the recruits as his 'idiots' and he didn't mean anything bad by it, mainly because he knew they were an intelligent group of young adults for the most part, so when he saw the hurt look that appeared in Allan's eyes he was quick to reassure the younger man that it hadn't been an insult, going on to make his rather weird comment in the process. He hoped that it made the kid feel better though of course he knew he was about to shoot that all to hell by issuing his next command, ordering the teen to strip and go stand in the corner. He was pleased that he got immediate obedience out of his partner and he watched as Allan put himself into position after folding his clothes. When Allan asked if it would help if he apologized Blaze was straight with him when he said that it wouldn't change anything but that he would appreciate it and when Allan went on to offer one he could tell that the younger man was sincere by the tone of his voice and he nodded his head. "I appreciate that and you'll be forgiven once this has been dealt with," the older man said in a calm tone of voice.

Blaze gave the younger man fifteen minutes to think about what he had done and then he ordered Allan to come to him, removing his belt as he did so. He knew that the young man would hear the sound of the belt slipping free from the loops and recognize it since this was a fairly frequent occurrence for the two of them unfortunately. He watched as Allan walked over and stood in front of him and at that point he ordered his partner to tell him why he was in trouble, locking his gaze on the younger man as Allan answered him. "The first part is correct, the second you actually aren't in trouble for because I believe that you didn't know you were going to get me into trouble. However you did know that pulling that prank was not something you should be doing," Blaze clarified since he never wanted Allan to think that he was in trouble for something that the man actually wasn't angry about. At that point he gestured toward his bed and ordered, "Assume the position." This was also fairly frequent for them though Blaze actually took the younger man over his lap more often than he forced him to bend over something.

[animefangirl]

Allan nodded when Blaze told him that he would be forgiven afterwards, since he knew that part already even if he wasn't thrilled about it since the 'dealing with it' part was never fun. Well, sometimes spankings could be fun, but never the ones he earned for himself by doing something stupid. After that he just stood there silently for what felt like forever to him, and if asked later he'd claim he had to have stood there for at least an hour, and if he had not heard the belt being pulled free he would have been relieved to be called away from the corner if only to escape the boredom of staring at the wall. He went to stand in front of Blaze and list his 'crimes' as he saw them and he nodded when Blaze clarified what he was in trouble for, actually a little relieved to hear that Blaze believed he didn't know his partner would get into trouble since Allan never would intentionally do that to Blaze or anyone else really. That relief was once again short lived as he was ordered to assume the position, the younger man grimacing before giving his partner one of those 'please dont make me do this' looks. "Blaaaaze, I wasn't even that bad" He protested, not sure why he thought stalling was a good idea but he really did not want to be belted so he was trying to at least get a lighter 'sentence' for what he'd done. At the very least he would have wanted to be taken over his partners lap instead of forced to bend over something, since it felt more personal when he was over Blaze's lap and could feel how close the older man was. Bending over something was sort of cold and it made him feel worse about the whole situation.

[CleverFox]

Blaze was well aware of the fact that the time spent standing in the corner was mind numbingly boring for Allan and that was part of the reason why he incorporated this punishment into their 'ritual', the embarrassment factor being another sticking point. However after fifteen minutes he called his partner out of the corner and ordered Allan to tell him why he was in trouble and he listened as Allan gave his count, correcting the younger man on one part of it. He knew that the younger man was generally well meaning if not more than a little bit immature for nineteen and that was why he knew for a fact that Allan hadn't meant to get him into trouble when he'd pulled off his prank. He wet on to order Allan to assume the position and the teen's whining really didn't help his situation in the slightest and Blaze used the belt to point to the bed as he said in a calm but stern tone of voice, "Now." He actually only intended on starting the spanking with the belt, planning on giving Allen about four licks before he would take the younger man over his lap to finish up with his hand. He knew that forcing Allan to bend over something was cold and impersonal which was why he didn't usually do it but this time he wanted to make an impression so maybe they wouldn't have to do this again in the near future and having the young man bend over something allowed him a wider swing which meant that he could strike harder. This didn't mean that he was going to go overboard and beat his partner but he was planning on giving him something to think about, every time that he sat down in the near future. Once Allan had obeyed him and bent over the bed Blaze walked forward and placed a hand on the small of his back, raising the belt and resting the cool leather against Allan's backside to give him a chance to prepare himself.